Brenntag North America has renewed SmartDrive Systems' SmartDrive, a video-based safety program, for a multi-year contract. The company continues to set industry standards for safety, striving for zero accidents and incidents worldwide.
“We began to see results immediately after partnering with SmartDrive. Not only did our drivers change their habits by driving more carefully, but we witnessed a cultural shift throughout the company,” says Matt Fridley, corporate manager of safety, health and security at Brenntag. “In all aspects of their work, employees throughout the company became safer. We attribute 100% of this companywide impact to SmartDrive.”
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Since first deploying the SmartDrive program in 2014, Brenntag has seen significant improvements across numerous leading safety indicators. Given the hazardous nature of the company's cargo, video-based safety offers fleet managers the crucial insight needed to reduce risk. As a result of these advances, drivers have come to rely on the program's feedback and video capture.
In addition to saving money and improved safety, Brenntag has:
- Increased proper seatbelt use by 75%
- Reduced use of mobile devices while drive by 50%
- Decreased instances of unsafe following distances by 83%
- Improved SmartDrive Safety Score upwards of 73% in regional companies
“Throughout the course of our collaboration, Brenntag has experienced remarkable improvements to its bottom line and, most importantly, the safety of its employees,” says Steve Mitgang, chief executive officer at SmartDrive. “Building and expanding on success to date, we are excited to continue driving measurable safety and operational gains across all divisions of Brenntag North America.”
However, when it came to renew its video safety, Brenntag required a solution that would complement its existing ELD technology footprint. The SmartDrive team was able to develop a program that merges data from SmartDrive and the ELD solution to provide Brenntag's fleet managers with an integrated understanding of driving performance from a single user interface. In addition, SmartDrive implemented a driver ID solution by using driver schedule data from the ELD provider.
“Hands down, SmartDrive is the best safety program we’ve implemented in the last decade. With every new acquisition, one of our first actions is to implement the program because of the value we know it will deliver,” adds Fridley. “Based on exonerations alone, it has paid for itself over and over. Our habits, our behaviors, our safety scores—everything the SmartDrive program encompasses has been worth every dollar we’ve spent.”
